Part II (NASB)

In the first half of chapter 4 we finally catch a glimpse of what is happening in Thessalonia that prompts Paul’s letter. It appears that the church’s members are undergoing some trial, and Paul doesn’t want them to give in to temptation. This concern links Paul’s letter to James’ letter, since it, too, deals with the subject of temptation. The differences between the two letters, though, warrant mentioning.

Firstly, James’ letter is addressed to Jewish Christians, while Paul’s is to Gentiles. And James’ church, secondly, seems to have already yielded to temptation, whereas the Thessalonians have not. Paul’s letter, then, can be understood to be a preemptive measure to cut off any turning away from their faith in Christ.

As we covered last time, Paul instructs the church that they have been called “in sanctification” and should adjust their behavior accordingly. I understand this to mean that Paul believes that how we choose to live our lives can and will impact our faith. We cannot claim to be people of faith while continuing in sexual immorality and choosing to remain in slavery to our baser appetites. Paul’s aim here is to salt any field that might produce a crop of unrighteousness. He wants the members of the church to remove from their lives anything that could impact their faith negatively.

Here in verse 13, I still think that the apostle has this goal in mind.

“13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope.”

“…those who are asleep,” is a euphemism for death widely used in the literature of the ancient Mediterranean world. Just as a believer who has been made holy must put away behaviors that might detract from that holiness, the Thessalonians mustn’t grieve their loss in the same way as “the rest of mankind do”.

I had an episode of First Day entitled, What Makes a Vulcan Cry?, that was about who emotionalism and reactivity is damaging the Church. It takes our eyes and hearts off God and places them on ourselves: our ideas and our feelings. Grief is normal, expected, and necessary—Paul is not advocating that the Thessalonians become Stoics. But a grief that leads to despair becomes prideful by taking one’s heart off God and focusing it on oneself. 

This fits perfectly with the opening section of this chapter. Sex is great—a gift from God that is very much needed—but when we become sexually immoral and give into our lustful passions—sex becomes like excessive grief—it devolves into a prideful distraction from God. Paul tells the church that it cannot give into despair in its loss because the Christian possesses something that the pagan does not: hope.

“14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.”

And this is the source of our hope, “that Jesus died and rose from the dead”. Notice, though, Paul’s use of that qualifier that so many Christians would rather ignore. He says that we will have hope “if we believe”. Maintaining hope, then, becomes our prerogative. It is our choice to not excessively grieve; it is our choice not to despair.

The second thing of note in this verse is what Paul tells the Thessalonians what God is going to do if they choose to hold onto their faith. “…so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.” In the last series on Galatians, Paul closes out chapter 2 and spends much of chapter 3 explaining the meaning of this part of verse 14.

In Galatians chapter 2 he tells the church that he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him. And the life that he has now he has through and because of Jesus. Therefore, “…those who have fallen asleep through Jesus” are not only those who have physically died but are also those who have allowed themselves to die in order that Christ might live in them.

“15 For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

Some commentators understand Paul’s motivation in saying this to be the belief that the living Christian is more blessed than those that have come before—that the Thessalonians believe that since they are living, they will receive the first share. But I don’t think so. Rather, what I discover here is the cause of the Thessalonians’ grief.

“16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

The Thessalonians grieve because they fear that their brothers and sisters who have physically died before the return of Christ will not receive the blessing eternal life through faith. This is why Galatians is so important, since, as I have already mentioned here today, we who are in Christ have already died; we live only because Christ lives in us. Paul tells the church not to give into despair because when the Day comes, all of those who have died through Christ—including those who are still living—will be with the Lord Jesus.